Tue Pose a Question

Why is it that last week I was so excited and anxious to go work out... even when I was so sore I grunted with every move I made... but this week, I'm hardly sore and all I want to do is sit on my can and read a book or play on FaceBook?

Too bad, Clancy! Come on, body... off to aerobics we go!!!

Rohan has this to say (he loves to type on my blog posts) :
fdfsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Tue Pose a Question

What is the deal with the government assaulting our constitutional rights? Does the agenda to disarm the American people disturb anyone else like it disturbs me? DISTURBS. As in,
dis⋅turb; –verb
1. to interrupt the quiet, rest, peace, or order of; unsettle.
2. to interfere with; interrupt; hinder:
3. to interfere with the arrangement, order, or harmony of
4. to perplex; trouble


This is keep-me-awake-long-after-I've-gone-to-bed material for me, kids. Disturbing.

Tue Pose a Question

I've been really diggin' my pet peeves lately. Or should I say, they've been diggin' me? I've been really irritated with a lot of little simple things. And so, as I often do, I wondered....

What are your pet peeves, my lovelies? Since I am so utterly and completely narcissistic on my blog I think I'll expound on a few of mine.

#1 When one has to travel some distance out of town... let's say it's to a place that is south of where they live, and they're talking about it with me or someone else, it bothers me way more than it should when they say, "We're going UP to such and such place". Why does that bother me? Because in my brain, if you are going up to a city, it should be a city that is NORTH of where you currently are. Or conversely, if someone says, "I'm headed down to Canada." they better be living at the North Pole.

Say it with me... Up = North. Down = South. If I was going to Salt Lake and I lived anywhere in Idaho I would say, "I'm going to head DOWN to Salt Lake City." That's the official way things are done in Clancy's world.

#2 Carrying groceries in from the car. I don't like it. On the rarest of occasions Dustin is around to help me carry them in, but mostly not so. My kids are getting bigger now and are much more able to carry than they used to be... especially Mac. Pretty soon I'm just going to say, "Kids, you want to eat any of this food we just bought? OK, you have to carry it all in the house." That will be a beautiful day and we'll have cupboards that are stocked better than they are currently.

#3 The never ending war waged on mated socks by the washer and dryer. Where oh where does that ONE little sock go? Why must the dryer or washer eat it? And what do I do with that one irritating sock? Save it? Toss it? It is so disturbing.

#4 I have a talking caller ID phone. This is not the pet peeve. The pet peeve occurs when one who is used to a phone that talks is in her basement and the phone rings on the non-talking phone. It is annoying. I can almost hear it from upstairs. Almost.

#5 January. I am looking forward to February 1st.


Well, I'm just a bundle of light and joy this week, aren't I? Sorry about that. I'm just ready for some sunshine and the lack of visible breath when I'm out in it. I'll be nicer tomorrow. Promise.

Tue Pose a Question

Am I alone? No. I know I'm not alone, but for the last little while I've had a problem and I'm wondering if I'm alone in my problem... all by myself, standing in the wilderness with the wind blowing dust in my eyes, starving and thirsty. That was called melodrama, just now. My problem is really not such a big deal and it only plagues me occasionally. Like when I get dressed every morning.

Problem: I don't know what's cute anymore. My fashion sense has turned into a man and is lost in a car and refuses to stop and ask for directions. It's true that my fashion sense never has been sharpened like one of those GPS ladies. You know the one. "Make. A. Right. Turn. In. Three. Hundred. Yards." If I had that lady, she was telling me I passed the street... "You. Went. Too. Far. Make. A. U-Turn."

I have always been fairly laid back about fashion. Not too cutting edge. Simple and relaxed for the most part. Comfort is a large contributing factor, but I like to look like I care too. I don't know... I feel like I'm talking to a Doctor. Which reminds me... you should read my friend Larrie's blog. She's hilarious and I like tangents.

Anyway... this problem seems to have been coming for a year or so. Right now it's flaring up and it's rather debilitating. There is a little problem within the problem that I rarely want to spend any money on clothes. Hmmm...

I have new earrings though. I like them alot. Dustin gave me them for Christmas after he read my blog post. It's the "these" in the post in case you are wondering. I told you I like tangents. I am especially tangenty tonight and I think it's because I have headphones on. I stole Mac's MP3 player and I'm being pulled in every direction in this post as I sing along to Jack Johnson's Sing-alongs and Lullaby's from the Curious George soundtrack. Such a great bunch of songs.

Yes. Problem. Back on task. So... I was just wondering for my Tuesday question if anyone else feels this way. Is anyone else fashionally lost? Do you think it's because I turned thirty in August? I don't know.

I wish I had a spare allotment of cash each month and I could take my sister-in-law, Tricia, shopping with me. She's a chic, fashionista kind of girl... she's also a size 1 or 2 and wears tiny shoes... a size 6, I'm guessing. All shoes look cute when they're a size 6, don't you think?

Anyway. Enough rambling. This problem is only a big deal when I'm feeling vain, which is more than it should be, to be sure. I have lots of clothes that are perfectly fine. I am blessed and I'll stop my whining right now!

Tue Pose a Question

Notice anything interesting and weird in these pictures?



Yes, I know Ella's face is the classic Christmas-morning-look-of wonder (click on it and make it big for the full effect), but that's not what I'm after.


Yes, Rohan and Mac love their new scooters and they are the most adorable snowman-pajama-laden boys ever to walk the earth, but that's not what I want you to notice either.


I know... Ella is loving her new stroller and her doll and she is a total girly girl with her purple snowman PJs, but keep looking...


Pure cuteness, but keep looking...


That crown, or halo, or whatever it is! That's gotta be it, right? (She wore that all the live-long day and looked so stinkin' adorable) No... she's cute as pie, but keep looking for something...


Wow! What a lucky guy! His very own MP3 player!! His wife must love him a lot to get him the very thing she wanted for herself!!! Keep noticing...


Cute, cute, cute...


Ella's face is classic, yet again, but what else do you notice?


Mac is growing up, I know, I know... but I want to see if you notice something else!?


We already covered that he's growing... I know he looks like such a young man, but have you noticed a consistent theme yet?

Girly-girl and halo/crown... what a character. Keep looking for it!


Oh, look! My brother! He would never have been so excited to get a set of sheets before he moved out of my parents house. But then he realized he can't just take everything with him that he wants because it's really my mom's... but now... look at the thrill of Egyptian Cotton!



My cute mom and her total surprise of a new sewing machine... something she would never buy for herself but her sneaky daughter notes every word that comes out of her mouth and found a deal on Black Friday...

That's the end. Did you notice? No, I'm not wondering if you noticed that we had a wonderful Christmas. Nor am I wondering if you noticed my kids are freakin' adorable. Did you notice who was missing from every single picture? Do you think that my children will wonder, as they look at pictures that document such events as this, if they had a mother? I tend to be the one who takes pictures, if they get taken at all. My face is, therefore, absent from most of the pictures in our lives. I know I am not alone in this phenomenon. I've heard other mother's blog about the same thing.

I just want my children to know that they, indeed, have a mother. Even though their mother is absent from Christmas morning pictures, she was sure to document her incredibly awesome bed-head a few days after Christmas! The one two days earlier was better, but the camera was full of Christmas carols and by the time I uploaded them, the hair had returned to a more normal state.

Tue Pose a Question

I was listening to a song the other day... World On Fire by Sarah McLachlan. There is a part of the song that says:

The more we take the less we become
The fortune of one man means less for some

I wondered as I listened to this song if people agree with that? Do you think that the fortune of one man mean less for some?

Answering that question for myself... I don't agree. I don't think that there are limits on the amount of "abundance" in the universe. I don't believe that someone's "fortune" tips some universal scale that means someone else has less. I read a book called Hidden Treasures that beautifully explains what I'm poorly conveying.

I might agree with the first part that says, "The more we take, the less we become". That can be true if we take without giving back.

Just a random thought...

So, what do you think?

Tue Pose a Question

Why procrastination? What does it do for me? I'm doing it right now and I can't figure it out. Why, when I have something pressing that I don't want to do, am I so excited to do the other things that I put off on every other day? Is it just a means to make myself feel like crap later on when I'm rushing around trying to get what is pressing done? Do I like feeling overwhelmed and despairing with to much too do in too little time? I know I don't like it, but maybe somewhere at some deep unconscious level I do, because why else would I do it so much of the freakin' time?

I look at people who are organized and do things in time with ease and grace and wonder what battles they have to fight in their mind. Their house is clean, children well behaved, finances lovely, food storage is set, testimony is secure... at least that is what is visible on the surface. Do they have problems too?

I can't see their problems, but I feel like my life is an open book, and that book ain't Charles Dickens... it's an Elmo coloring book that a three year old has scribbled on every page. My life is crazy and disorganized and nothing seems to be "in the lines". Do those apparently perfect people feel the same way? I wish I could name a few of them and ask them. What are your battles, you perfect people? Tell me!

Ya, I know. I'm looking at my neighbor like I admonished myself not to yesterday. Open book, see? Well anyway... procrastination and why I do it is on my mind and I'm not in a very good mood today. I just don't feel like being eloquent or nice, so my apologies to all you lovelies who are reading. I'll get over it and be happy tomorrow or in 5 minutes... that's how I roll.

Tue Pose a Question

As it is election day today, I have a special election day question that I've had a small chuckle with myself over. I was watching a movie (Mr. and Mrs. Smith) and I was thinking about this whole presidential race thingy and I was guessing to myself that Bradgelina Jolitt is voting for Obama. That simple little train of thought sent my mind into a picture of the local school in Hollywood or Beverly Hills or wherever it is that all these paparazzi-laden people live. I imagined to myself a vivid little picture and asked... what would you hear in that voting district?

BRAD PITT has voted.

CHRISTINA AGUILERA has voted.

*some kid walks by on their way to the bathroom, hallpass in hand*

PINK has voted.

ANGELINA JOLIE has voted.

*over the intercom, "Teachers, this is the reminder of the meeting in the faculty room after school..."*

CAMERON DIAZ has voted.

*end dorky mind-wandering-train-of-thought-that-made-me-giggle*


I mentioned this image to someone at church and, sadly, they shattered my silly daydream by letting me know that these folks probably do absentee voting or something like that. I think I like my scenario better...


Now go and vote for your canidates of choice, would ya!?

Tue Pose a Question

Why oh why? That is the question. This applies to many things. And the answer is: I don't know.

• ~I don't know why I eat food so particularly. I am a save-the-best-bite-for-last kind of chick. Dustin used to laugh and laugh watching me eat (back when it was still a novelty). For example: A piece of bread. My favorite bite is the one where the top crust curves around and meets the bottom crust. It's particularly yummy and I like to save that bite of a sandwich for the very last.
  
• ~I also don't know why I am so compelled to stay up so darn late every night. At 9:30pm, as I walked out of the kids' room after getting them to bed, I wondered to myself what would happen if I just went to bed right now? Just go to sleep at 9:30? That would be weird. I thought I might feel better in the morning. I might not fly off the handle like I did earlier in the evening when Ella was being a whiny beast. I might, just might, get up early and write in the morning. *YEAH RIGHT* I don't know why but I just resist the thought of going to bed anytime before midnight.
• ~I don't know why I have moments where I feel great, like I can handle things, and then 38.3 seconds later I feel like an office chair that fell off the back of a truck going seventy on the freeway. How can one go from smooth sailin' to a broken shell of herself in a matter of seconds? The answer... I don't know. Perhaps the truck carrying the chair just hit a bump in the road and the chair was not secured, strapped down, wedged securely, etc... My life is the truck, my circumstances are the road, and my state of mind is the chair. Hmmm....
• ~Clearly, this is not a very clear post and I am feeling rather random and dim-witted. Ah well... that's what happens when you get carried away in a post the night before and don't finish it until 3am. Dim-witted, murky randomness!
  

Tue Pose a Question

Here's my question...

How many of you who read my blog use Google Reader? If you don't, you should. It's the coolest. And iGoogle is the icing on the cake. (oh how I wish Google paid me a dollar for everytime I said that!)

Here's the point to this question. If you use Google Reader and you notice that I have updated my blog with yet another wordy post, you might want to go straight to my blog and read the post there. I, often... VERY often, in fact almost every time I post... edit the post after I've read it on my actual blog. I have proof-reading and editing OCD. I obsess over this A LOT and so I often do one if not several edits once it's posted. (I edit it at least triple that amount BEFORE I post it too...) I have noticed that Google Reader takes the first post and doesn't update for editing freaks like me. So... if you want the finished product of my verbosity, go straight to the blog, baby!

The End.

Tue Pose a Question

Thanks for playing my Q & A game last week. I enjoyed it muy macho!

This week I had a wonder as I was stepping over the wormy apples that fall from my neighbor's tree into our yard. It seems like all apples that grow on trees in yards have worm holes, does it not? That simple act of stepping over wormy apples set my brain in motion. I keep thinking about apples and worms. My little wondering brain wondered to myself what I would do if I bought an apple at the store and it had a worm in it!? Ewe.

What would I do? I think it would depend on what I was using it for. If I was just eating it, I would set it down and squeench a little bit (you know... shiver with yuckiness and have various muscles in my body clench in creepy ways {shoulders, gluteus maximus, thighs}. My brother invented the word squeench, btw), and then take it back to the store and demand my money back. If I had a specific plan for said apple, ie: apple pie, apple cake... something recipe-ish... I would cut around the wormhole, squish the worm, squeench again, and then cut up the apple and use it because I would have no time to go to the store and demand my money back because I don't plan well and I would most likely need whatever I was making in one hour... exactly ten minutes short of the amount of time needed to make whatever I'm making. That's how I seem to operate most of the time.

Funny thing is, when I make something from the yard apples, that consistently have a wormhole or a worm, it doesn't phase me. Expectations are the key here. I expect them in yard apples. I don't in chemical-filled store apples.

So... how bout you? If you got a worm in a store bought apple, would you squeench and throw a fit, or would you proceed with your original objective? ;)

You Asked...

Questions answered! Thanks for playing!

MERRIANNE said...

1. how tall are you?
I'm 5'6".
2. What song makes you the happiest?
There's so many... music makes me happy. Right now it's I'm Yours and Lucky by Jason Mraz. Another that I can always count on is Goodnight and Go by Imogen Heap. Classic.

3. What is your favorite color?
Blue... this color, specifically (the pendant, not the webpage)

4. What is your least favorite food?
I'm a fairly adventurous eater... I am not sure if it's my LEAST favorite, but I don't like chicken. Weird, I know. It was a pregnancy-induced thing.

5. What was your first date with your husband like?
I'm rackin' my brain, but we never really went on a "date", I don't think. We sort of started hanging out with a bunch of people together. We all went rollerblading. I thought he was cute and AWESOME on his blades, and he thought I had a cute butt. I guess after hanging out a few times in a group we did go out alone together and you could consider that a "date". He showed up (unexpected) at my house, IN MY ROOM at about 8:00 am on a morning we didn't have school. I was in bed still! I was freaking out telling him to go away and he was bouncing off the walls saying stuff like, "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!! Get up, get dressed! Let's go DOOOO something!!!!" I thought he was nuts, but I got up and got dressed and we went on a neat hike. It was in some weird place with giant trees on the west-side of Cache Valley. There were little tiny baby worms hanging from silk thread ALL over the trees. There were literally thousands and thousands of them. Dustin thought that was really cool. I thought it was creepy. I think we got some food after... breakfast or lunch? I don't really remember as I didn't feel like it was an official "date". Weird that I've never thought of our lack of a first date before...

Kaci said...

What is your favorite breakfast food?
I love crepes with whipped butter and ligonberries. But I FEEL the best when I eat scrambled eggs on wheat toast. But I most often eat cereal... bran flakes or Frosted Mini Wheats.
If you had to run or walk which would you do?
I guess that depends on where I'm going! If I'm playing ultimate frisbee, I'm running. If I'm at the grocery store, I'm walking! ;) Hee hee. Are you talking for exercise? I would much prefer to run. I was a runner for a month or two in the summer and I was AMAZED to find that I absolutely loved it. Then I got sick and never got back to it... then my husband left town so I can't go unless I take the kids with me somehow.

Leah said...
I'll take some questions off a game called "crazy quandries" that I have at home:

Would you rather always lose, or never get to play?
I would rather always lose. I can't stand when there's playin' going on without me, and I'm competitive enough that I would figure out a way to win or die trying.

Would you rather take ten kindergarteners to the zoo, or take ten teens to a night club?
Hands DOWN I'd be takin' ten teens to a nightclub, and I'd be dancing with them!

Would you rather grow cat fur for facial hair every night, or have horrible chronic dog breath?
LOL! I've thought about this specific question long and hard for two days now... and I think I'd take the cat fur. I could have laser hair removal done. Although I am allergic to cats, so do you think I'd be allergic to myself? If that's the case then I'm going for the dog breath. I would kill myself if I had to walk around all day everyday being allergic to my own face... eyes always itching, always sneezing. Dog breath is better than death by my own hand, don't you think? Would you still be my friend if I had chronic dog breath? (I guess since we are blogging friends and you don't often *or ever* get the chance to speak to me, that's probably an affirmative, right?)

Amanda and Beau said...

How did Dustin Propose??
We had gone roller-skating with our family home evening group. It was super fun... roller-limbo is burned into my memory. We had such a good time. I can't remember if we went and got dinner, but later we were just driving around and we went up on a mountain that overlooked Logan. It was super windy and cold (it was February 2... that's right, Groundhog Day!) and we sat in the car talking.

Dustin suddenly said, "You wanna get out for a minute?" I thought, "No freakin' way! It's freezing out there!" but I said, "Sure." We got out and walked around for a minute and he grabbed my shoulders, turned me around to face him and he said lots of sweet things to me that I will keep to myself. Then he pulled out a velvety little box, opened it, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I knew it was coming... not a real conscious thing until moments before, but I knew. When he asked, it almost felt like my life flashing before my eyes... very surreal. I remember thinking that I would remember this moment for the rest of my life... and how weird it was that this was happening to me. I was so young, although I didn't know I was young at the time, but I did know I didn't feel ready for that moment. And so, I said as much. I asked him if it would be ok if I said I don't know. He said, "I knew you would say that."

I waited six days to give him an answer. I don't think I've ever realized until this moment, typing this story, how that must have pained him. I knew it did, don't get me wrong, but just how difficult that must have been for him... the extent is just hitting me now.

I imagine that he hoped for that night to end very different than it did. He hoped to go home on cloud nine, engaged to his sweetheart. He hoped to go tell his friends and family that he was getting married. Instead, his night ended in torment wondering what my answer would be, and when it would come. He probably doubted himself and beat himself up while I was wrapped up in my own world trying to figure out if this was the right thing for me to do.

I didn't know how to decide and I was, quite frankly, scared. I don't remember anything about those six days except what went on in my mind. I don't remember if I was with Dustin at all during that week. I remember trying the ring on (he told me to hold on to it) and wearing it here and there, trying to imagine myself as engaged and married. I had some reconciling to do in my mind about someone that I had dated with whom things never officially ended (he went on a mission for our church and was still gone). I had a lot of other thoughts and prayers... it was not an easy time for me either. The whole week was surreal.

I obviously decided to say yes. I had gone home to Idaho and visited with my parents... prayed a lot... and come to my answer. I drove back to Logan and went straight to his apartment. We went to his room, I sat him down, and, looking very serious, leaned over and whispered "yes" in his ear. He bowled me over with a hug and sweet tears. We smiled, we cried, we laughed. His joy and elation were there, just six days later than he imagined.

Looking back on it from this perspective, I see things more clearly. I am grateful for this beautiful moment that I've just experienced, hammering out these thoughts on my keyboard and feeling some portion of my sweetheart's pain. I hear the symphony now and the rightness of how it all unfolded.

(whew! that was one long answer that went a direction I didn't expect!)

Carmy said...

Do you remember what your first thought of me was?
Sweet. Gentle. Quiet. Loves my brother.

Thanks for the break, Kristin!

Maria Hart said...

1. Why is it called "common sense" when does not seem to be common at all?
It's a whimsical and wistful phrase... kind of like fairies. We all wish they existed so they could wave wands and make dreams come true. Just as we all wish common sense was common and existed in every human brain on the planet, creating a world of idiotlessness... but it's really just a wish and a dream when we say, "it's common sense".

2. What super hero or super power would you love to be/have? Why?
I think I would like to be a Spirit Warrior, like the Quileute Indian tribe's histories in New Moon. I like the idea of leaving my body and being able to go back into it at will. I wish I could do that right now. Sometimes I could use a different perspective.

Do I have to pick just one? If I do, that's it. If I can have more...

I would also like to have fire come out of the tip of my finger, like Pyro on X-men. Think of how handy I would be when I go camping, or if I had a gas stove?! And I could make quick work of lighting birthday candles! I'd also like to be able to turn invisible. And I'd like to have pre-cognition... spidey-sense. And I'd like to run fast like Dash, but be strong like Mr. Incredible. Then I could just put my kids in the car, put it in neutral and push fast! I'd be the greenest darned car in town! :) Oh... I better stop there. I could go on all night!

Ginny said...

what has been your greatest challenge in your life thus far? and how did you deal with it?
This would have to be overcoming that voice inside me that tells me I'm unworthy, not good enough, etc... or my ego, as it has been called. I think this is the "natural man" spoken of in the scriptures. The natural man is an enemy to God and the natural man is who tells me I'm separate, alone, and unworthy of being heard. I could elaborate for pages and pages about this, my greatest challenge... but I've already written too much above. Maybe I'll post my thoughts some other time.

As far as your other question goes, "how did I deal with it?"... that implies that it was in the past and already dealt with. This is not so. I deal with it every moment. I deal with it in lots of different ways... reading, praying, talking to certain people who encourage me, grinding in new ideas that I'm ok and loved, safe and worthy, good enough and deserving, beautiful and bright. It is a moment by moment battle that I would imagine is a consistent journey rather than a destination. I think it will be ever-present while I am on this earth and it may change and morph and become better, but then some new level of the same challenge will arise as my awareness expands, and as I grow. I am up to the challenge.

Rachel Chick said...

I have a fabulous question for you . . .
Will you sing with me? :)
I don't care what, just something.
Nels thinks that we should make a band! :) LOL! Your dad could play guitar, Nels could play bass . . . we could make it work!

I think you are so fabulous Clancy! Thanks for being my friend.

ABSOLUTELY! I would love nothing more than to sing with you. And I think a band would be the awesomest! Finding time to be a band is the trick, but let's do it! And until we are a band, let's just you and I sing something together!

Thank you... I think you are equally fabulous and I am so grateful that life brought us together as friends.

beth s. said...

If you had to assign gender to salt and pepper how would you do it and why?
Brings back memories of good times...

Pepper is female. Salt is male. Pepper is so complicated looking. So many colors swirling around, can't make up it's mind, some bites burn your mouth more than others. Salt is constant. It's always cubical (you know... the fracture line things? Dustin's a geologist, I should ask him what they're called), it's consistently white and you can count on it to always taste the same. I don't know about the men in your life, but that's pretty much Dustin... very consistent.

What do you feel was the most, or one of the most, critcial moments in your life, you know the kind that change the rest of your life and you can trace it back to that very moment?
Saying 'yes' to Dustin. (see above) I can't elaborate a lot cuz this post is long already and I'm tired and want to go to bed... but that really is it. It set me down a path I don't know that I ever would have followed otherwise and it is exactly what I needed to learn some incredible lessons (still learning them)! I will say that after I decided to say yes, I questioned it and doubted all through our engagement. Then, on the day we were getting married (still questioning in my mind), I got my hair and make-up all fixed, and we went to the Salt Lake Temple and were meeting Dustin in the lobby area. He was waiting for me and, as soon as I looked at him, peace settled over me like a blanket. As long as I live, I will never forget that feeling. I knew it was right and I never doubted again.

Connie said...

Is it too late to ask another question? That's not my question.
No, it's not too late! LOL!

I know you sing and play guitar. Have you ever composed/written anything?
Yes, I have.

If so, what type of songs?
Dumb ones. ;) I dunno, it's hard to be objective on your own songs, but they're not very cool. I've only written two. One for an assignment in college which I had to perform for my final. I was sick for a week before that "final". The other is not quite finished... I wrote the lyrics first and I don't think it's as easy to do it that way... oh well. It's just for fun.

Tue Pose a Question

Tueday I'm going to steal an idea that the adorable Merrianne had on her blog a while ago. I thought it was cute, and let's face it, I'm feeling lazy today. Soooo.... the question for today is...

If you could ask me anything, what would you ask?

So I had to put that in question form because of the nature of my Tuesday posts, but the deal is, ask me anything and I'll post the answers on Thursday. Here's my big fear.... my insecurities scream, "You've told it all, girl! There's nothing left to ask." So, if I could humbly ask you to ask ANYTHING... even if it's some silly question you make up. Just ask and be silly if you must!
:) Thanks for your cooperation or should I say, indulgence....

Tue Pose a Question

Confessional: I am a crappy housekeeper. I've got a whole book written in my head about that very sentence. I loathe this facet of myself. Maybe some of you who have a clean house don't understand the gravity with which I use the word loathe. Loathe, as in to feel disgust or intense aversion for; to abhor, deplore, despise, hate, or scorn; to regard with extreme dislike and hostility. Yes, loathe.

Don't we all want to look like a shiny new penny... not the corroded green, sticky, can't-tell-what-year-it-is penny that screeches under the wheel of your grocery cart? I think the answer to that is yes. That's why we women wear makeup, right? To show the shiny-penny side of ourselves? Well, I'd rather go out without makeup a thousand-and-three times than have someone come into my house when it's really messy. It makes me anxious. It makes me near hyperventilation. It makes me feel like I am going to vomit. If one's mind could go to jail for assault on themselves, my little brain would be locked up for life, lifting weights while it quietly awaits the electric chair. It's that bad folks.

I grew up in a messy house and I haven't yet learned the ways of good housekeeping. I'm trying to ease up on myself because I'm doing the best I know how with the arsenal my childhood equipped me with. So... the question(s) I'd like to ask, which I have no answer for (as noted above), is: How do you keep your house clean? What is your routine? Do you have certain chores on certain days of the week? How do you enlist your children in these duties without a big 'ole nasty fight? Is there a specific time of day you clean, or is it all the live-long day?

My dream is to learn how to love myself, regardless of the state of my house. That is the goal. I'm pretty sure, because of the severe intensity of my feelings around this matter, that it is a deeper issue than just a clean house or a messy house, but I haven't yet dug in that dark corner of my mind to uncover what that might be. Until I am ready to get out the pick and shovel, or jack-hammer and backhoe as the case may be, maybe I can pick up a few pointers from all of you, my lovely friends. :)

Tue Pose a Question

Image provided for Britta

What's the deal with artichokes? Did you ever wonder who figured out they were edible? Just imagine...

"Hey! Look at this poky, spiky thing with weird leaves... let's cook it!" Cooks for a long time...

"Let's chew on these leaves and see how they taste." Spits leaves out.

"That's disgusting... maybe if we suck them..." Sucks on them and discovers "meaty" leaves. Experiments with best method for meat removal...

"Try scraping it with your teeth!" "Ya! Perfect! Ah... that meaty goodness!" Proceeds to scrape all leaves clean. Discovers a hairy center.

"I just gotta try that!!!" Tests out the hair. Disgusted.

"Get that hair off of there!" Hair removed. Discovers the scrumptiousness hidden under all that fuzz... the heart!

"AWWWW....THIS IS AWESOME!!! We gotta tell somebody about this!"


Ya. I wonder that every time I eat one.

Tue Pose a Question

Tuesdays are now my official question days. I often wonder silly things- some rhetorical, some not. Either way I've decided to wonder them into the blogosphere.

Tueday's *chuckles to herself* question: Why do they say the phrase "easy as pie"? In my experience pie is not easy in any way, shape, or form. I am a total advocate of homemade pie crust- there's just nothing better- but, come on! It's a pain in the WATOOSIE! I have gotten fairly good at making pie crusts. They are not always pretty, but they always taste divine. Divine or not, there's nothing easy about it. Then you have to fill the stinkin' things. Take apple pie for instance. Slicing, peeling, coring, measuring, tossing, arranging, fluting, latticing or sealing, cutting out a cute little vent hole pattern... easy is not the first word that pops into MY head. Actually, the last time I made apple pie it actually was fairly easy, but only because I capitalized on my mother's efforts by using her homemade, bottled apple pie filling. (plus I bought a frozen crust... hey- get off my case, I was in college and had not refined my crust making abilities!!) Coconut cream is my personal favorite. Make crust dough, put in pie plate, flute edges, poke all over with a fork, layer with foil, weight with beans, bake for a few minutes, remove beans, bake til golden brown, cool and we haven't even started talking about the filling that you have to stir for the rest of your life... (or until thickened and boil for one minute, then add butter and vanilla. I do like to exaggerate!) Easy as pie, huh? I don't thiiiink soooo!

Maybe they are talking about some other aspect of pie when they use this term? Perhaps the Sara Lee or Marie Callander's varitey?? Preheat oven to 400, slice open cardboard, place in oven, bake for 45 minutes until golden brown? Those are easier to make, not as easy to eat in my opinion.

Ah, wait! I may have just figured it out... I must rescind my previous statement of "pie is not easy in any way, shape or form." I found the "easy" in "easy as pie"! The easy part for me is the eating part! I hereby declare a revamp of the age-old phrase! The new official version (at least in Clancy's world!) will be: "Easy as eating pie"!